A light cough from the Duke of the East, rather than a shout or an objection, broke the hall's astonishment and brought everyone back to reality. It was a dry cough, yet it shattered the frozen silence and opened the door for a cold current of suspicion to begin creeping into everyone's hearts.
Eyes secretly turned.
Was the Duke of the North on the Emperor's side?
No one was looking at Morgana. Instead, their gazes settled on the person standing behind her: Duke Philip. Suspicion seeped into the nobles' hearts like poison; why hadn't the Emperor punished him? And why had the Duke remained silent before this "cub"?
Had the previous argument merely been a staged performance designed to conceal a solid alliance beneath the table? If so, then the equation had changed, and they would need to reconsider their calculations before leaving this place.
The Duke of the East cut through this chain of thoughts with a question wrapped in exceptional political cunning.
"Your Majesty, is there a specific reason why you chose the Empress?"
The Duke smiled and quickly continued to absorb any tension.
"Of course, I do not mean to question your decision. I merely wonder about the reason behind it."
At this point, even the Duke of the North turned toward Ray with a confused and cautious look. To him, that girl was nothing more than a puppet that could be easily controlled, and the Emperor should know that... so was he trying to court Duke Philip? Or was he trying to create a rift between him and his followers?
A heavy silence filled the room.
Everyone was waiting to learn whether Morgana was a shield or a bridge.
But Ray struck from an angle no one expected and answered with a coldness that shattered all their calculations.
"I never said I chose the current Empress."
Ray paused for a moment to let them recall his words before continuing.
"The matter will be decided through a test. Empress Morgana will participate in the test as well, but whoever possesses the necessary qualifications will receive the title of Commander of the Pillar of Spirit, on the condition that she is a woman... and that she accepts the position of Empress."
The statement fell.
Ray had not appointed Morgana. Instead, he had turned the position of Empress and the position of Pillar Commander into a prize within an arena of competition.
The message was clear: the authority of this pillar would never leave the sphere of the throne, and anyone who desired this power would have to place his daughter or wife under the Emperor's authority. If they accepted this system, it would mean only one thing: Ray had successfully transformed them from "conspirators" into "competitors" for this pillar.
Then Ray asked a question that reinforced a fundamental point.
"You don't believe that the Empire has fallen, do you?"
Everyone swallowed nervously. Even the Duke of the North felt a trace of fear at Ray's final words and quickly looked toward the nobles. Those eyes that had once been certain of the Empire's collapse had now fallen into deep thought.
It was deceptive.
Ray was merely playing with words.
This Empire was nothing more than a piece of land in the middle of the continent.
The Duke's mana trembled as he struggled to control his emotions. He wanted to remind everyone of that. If it were up to him, he would have ended this meeting immediately, but they were still only at the beginning. Even if it was merely a passing thought, it was enough to plant a seed of doubt in the hearts of everyone present in the hall.
And the idea shared by the majority was obvious:
The Empire had not fallen.
Then if they went along with this system, wouldn't that secure even more benefits, even if the Empire eventually collapsed?
"I understand, Your Majesty."
The Duke of the North nodded. It was not loyalty, but rather the attitude of a neutral man who prioritized his own interests.
"But what about background checks?"
"As Rei mentioned before, background does not matter."
Which meant that even if a spy from another nation were to pass this supposed test, it would be possible for that person to obtain the legitimacy to sit upon the throne?
The Duke of the East smiled and asked no further questions. Instead, he picked up the documents and began reviewing them to examine the nature of the test and whether it could be manipulated.
At the same time, the nobles stepped forward to ask about various details.
After answering every question, Rei announced the continuation of the explanation of the pillars and moved on to the Fifth Pillar. This time, an atmosphere of seriousness settled over the hall.
And now that they were in a state of greed, it was the perfect time to move on to the Fifth Pillar: the Lamp.
[Please turn with me to page 34.]
Everyone heard the rustling of paper as pages were turned simultaneously. Eyes gleamed with restrained greed beneath the chandeliers.
[The Fifth Pillar is the Pillar of Knowledge...(The Lamp). If the Pillar of Spirit is the tongue, then this pillar is the Empire's "mind" and the engine of its advancement.]
As for this pillar, Ray was not building it from nothing. Rather, he was digging beneath the ashes of the Third Emperor, who had once made knowledge the "heartbeat" of every household before chaos suffocated it during the era of the Twelfth Emperor. Ray had inherited a magic tower that had transformed from a beacon of research into a closed fortress of secrets, and academies that had once been factories of minds had become ruins filled with dust. The "Lamp" was nothing more than an attempt to repair that great engine.
But it was not only that.
[The Tower of Magical Engineering will be reopened, and the academies as well. There will be some additions, but they will be discussed with the Pillar Commander.]
[Like the other pillars, the Pillar Commander stands at the top of the hierarchy. He is the highest supervisor of research and education within the Empire. He serves as the link between the currently closed Tower of Magical Engineering and the needs of the state. Therefore, he must either be a brilliant scholar or an administrator who understands the value of innovation.]
This was a reference to the former Academy Head who had been invited to the meeting, as well as the Vice Master of the Blue Tower and the Lady of the Red Tower. Ray did not point this out directly, nor was there any need. A few words were enough to explain a great deal within this hall.
[The second level: The Supreme Academic Council. This division includes the heads of scientific and magical departments, and its role is to determine research priorities.]
[The third level: Institutes of Development and Innovation (Laboratories). Their duty is the practical application of knowledge. Therefore, the divisions are separated into...]
- Military Division: Developing new weapons and equipment for the army (in coordination with the Second Pillar).
- Civilian Division: Creating tools that improve the lives of the people (faster transportation methods, magical communication systems).
[The fourth level: The Comprehensive Educational Authority. Its role is to manage academies and schools, including the Tower of Magical Engineering. The purpose of this section is to search for talent. Therefore, this division must ensure that any gifted child from a small village is brought into an environment suitable for learning.]
[Finally, the foundation of the pyramid: Artisans and Experimenters. These are the workers and engineers who manufacture the tools and machines that are invented.]
[Please contribute to the construction of this division. Sislin will oversee the examination after one month in order to establish the vessel for this division. After that, this Lamp will become the light of this Empire.]
Silence settled over the hall.
But this time, it was not a heavy silence.
It was the silence of calculations.
The most obvious difference between this pillar's system and the old system was that authority was concentrated in the hands of the Pillar Commander.
One of the nobles raised his hand to ask a question.
"Your Majesty, I do not believe the Empire's current condition allows for the restructuring of this pillar."
Question marks appeared on faces like scars.
"Sislin?" one noble whispered loudly enough to be heard.
Wasn't this man the link connecting the betrayal to the Duke of the North? How could he be placed at the head of the Empire's "mind"?
The nobles looked toward the Duke of the North, who was trying to maintain his expressionless mask.
This was a signal to the Duke of the North that Sislin had become a useless piece. Granting him this authority, even temporarily, confirmed the belief that Sislin had betrayed the Duke.
Sislin knew he had not betrayed the Duke.
But the Duke did not know that.
And Ray knew it.
Yet now, even if Sislin wanted to explain himself, he no longer could.
The greater problem was that Sislin's father was a Marquis among the neutral nobles.
His status carried considerable weight within this hall due to the long history of his family, which made Ray's manipulation of the threads a problem that could no longer be resolved.
Sislin...
In this moment, he had lost every supporting faction.
And the Duke of the North had lost the piece that had been monitoring the Emperor's movements, which meant it would now be possible to remove the surveillance placed upon him and isolate the storm unfolding within the castle.
Sislin lowered his head and looked at the palm of his hand.
More specifically, at his wedding ring.
He gritted his teeth.
Now he had no choice but to accept Ray's manipulation of the facts. His father would never forgive him for siding with the Duke if he also lost the Emperor's trust.
Amid all this chaos, Rei calmly continued explaining more details about this pillar before moving on to one of the most important pillars in the Empire—the nerve that kept all the gears turning.
And by the way, if this pillar had existed, the Empire would never have fallen to such a level of decline.
The Fourth Pillar.
The Pillar of Finance.
[As you can see in the documents, the Fourth Pillar is the sovereign fortress that protects the Empire's wealth and ensures that every piece of gold that is minted or sealed...]
This was an indication that it had been separated from the Ministry of Finance and was being restructured.
"To clarify the difference between the Pillar of Finance and the Ministry of Finance, it is quite simple. The Fourth Pillar is the Empire's balance; a higher authority responsible for preservation, minting, and financial oversight to guarantee the stability and strength of the currency."
"The Ministry of Finance is the lifeblood of the system. It is responsible for revenue collection, taxation, strategic spending, and the direct administration of all state resources."
[Also,] Rei continued after Ray, [the Ministry of Finance falls under the First Pillar. We will discuss that when we reach it.]
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End of Chapter
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[Side Information about the Third Emperor]
[The Third Emperor was unlike any who sat upon the throne. He did not view the crown as a burden, but as an invitation to celebrate. He was known as the Friend of Minds, a man who preferred sitting among engineers and mages in their dust-filled workshops rather than in the gilded halls of the palace. During his reign, knowledge was not merely numbers—it was an infectious passion that made the entire Empire smile alongside him.]
[One day, he decided to personally test the "first mana-powered agricultural engine" in the capital's fields, ignoring all warnings.]
[While the nobles stood in their elegant clothing waiting for a magnificent demonstration, the engine suddenly accelerated at a speed no one had anticipated! Instead of plowing the fields, it began launching magical soap bubbles that filled the air, and the Emperor ended up chasing the machine through the mud while laughing at the top of his lungs.]
["Knowledge never makes mistakes, my friends. It simply has a sense of humor sometimes! At the very least, we now have the cleanest fields on the continent." That was the sentence that immortalized that day in the history of the Empire.]